Candlelight vigil recalls deaths of Vargas brothers

Wednesday

One year ago, Tina Vargas suffered an unspeakable loss, one that left her grieving the loss of her two sons.

One year ago, Tina Vargas suffered an unspeakable loss, one that left her grieving the loss of her two sons.

A year later, the Taunton woman still has not found closure on the brutal broad daylight shootings that took the lives of Shawn and Kevin Vargas. But she hasn’t lost hope that the attackers will be found.

“They’re going to get them, it’s just a matter of time,” the mother said Tuesday night, standing just feet away from where her sons were gunned down on Feb. 24, 2008.

Friends and family honored the slain brothers as they gathered for a candlelight vigil outside Shawn Vargas’ Somerset Avenue apartment to mark the one-year anniversary of the shootings.

Several guests wore sweatshirts bearing pictures of the brothers, who were shot to death inside Kevin Vargas’ next-door Somerset Avenue apartment on a Sunday mid-afternoon.

According to Kristine DaCosta, the Vargas brothers’ aunt, the purpose of the vigil was two-fold — to honor the memory of her nephews and, more importantly, to keep their story alive. In maintaining public awareness of the shootings, she hopes to find those responsible for the brazen act — which remains unsolved — and find justice for the family.

Heather Rose, who stood beside the brothers’ mother, Tina Vargas, during the vigil, was touched to see such a large crowd of familiar faces who braved the bitter cold to remember her cousins. “It’s incredible,” said Rose. “I’m so happy people are still thinking of them. No one is giving up — we want them to know that.”

For DaCosta, hearing the word “unsolved” always stings just a bit. “I am angry that this happened to them and angry that those responsible are still out there walking the streets,” DaCosta said. “I am angry because if they feel like they can get away with this they will do it again.”

DaCosta also directed her anger toward those who have information about the crime but have not come forward. She said responsibility and blame also lie with them.
“It’s like you are on the murderer’s side... accepting and believing that murder is OK,” she said.

DaCosta added, “Someone out there knows something. It happened in broad daylight on a Sunday, people were home.”

That’s why, DaCosta said, the lack of progress on her nephews’ case has been all the more frustrating and hard to grasp. “It makes no sense to the family,” DaCosta said. “We were told there were so many leads in the case, we just expected things to move quicker.”

For Heather Rose and her family, this past year has been a difficult one. Especially since, one year after the shooting, there are still more questions than answers. “It’s unsettling to know [the killers] are still out there and nothing has been done for these boys,” Rose said.

She admitted that hope gets harder and harder to muster with each new day that passes, however, she has to remind herself not to lose faith. “It kind of hurts,” she said. “But, all you can do is hope and pray. That’s all that gets us through these days.”

Though the investigation has hit its one-year mark, DaCosta reminded guests that it is not a cold case. The Taunton police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office are investigating leads and the Vargas family remain optimistic that justice is just around the corner.

Tina Vargas is in constant contact with the lead investigator working “day and night” on the case. She understands that “[investigators] don’t want to make any mistakes” and finds solace in the fact that when they do finally make an arrest “it will stick.”
“They will go to jail for life,” Vargas said.

While her son Shawn Vargas may no longer be with her, Vargas still sees him every day when she looks at his 9-month-old daughter Serena, who was not yet born at the time of his death.

“She is a spitting image of Shawn when he was a baby,” said Vargas, smiling at her granddaughter who was bundled in winter wear in order to take part in her father’s vigil.
She is the youngest of Shawn Vargas’ two children, and Kevin Vargas also has two kids of his own, who were present in the Somerset Avenue home on the night of the shooting.

Anyone with information on the shootings is asked to call (508) 332-TIPS, or email vargasreward@hotmail.com. A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered to anyone who helps solve the case.

alopes@tauntongazette.com

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